1. Field of the Invention
Mortarboards are worn as headgear on the heads of proud graduating students as they present during their graduation exercises. Mortarboards are solid colored caps having a flat top that is substantially square in shape, with draped cloth protruding from the underside of the flat portion to secure the cap to the wearer's head. Some graduating students embellish the tops of mortarboards with drawings, pictures, and other decorations.
Clips are used to securely attach one object to another object, often with one object acting as the supporting platform on which the second object is displayed.
2. Description of the Related Art
During graduation exercises, the graduating students are dressed uniformly in matching robes and mortarboards. From certain angles, the broad mortarboards can obscure the faces of graduating students. Parents, friends and loved ones have difficulty distinguishing the graduating student of interest in large graduating classes due to the uniformity of dress and the mortarboard acting to block facial features. Also, many graduating students chafe at the forced uniformity of graduation dress. Some wish to express their individuality during one of the most important days of their lives.
To express some individuality, some graduating students embellish the top of their respective mortarboards by drawing on or gluing designs to them. These modifications are generally permanent. Since many graduating students rent or borrow graduation outfits, permanent modification of the top of the rented or borrowed mortarboard is undesirable.
What is needed is a simple and non-permanent way for graduating students to individualize their mortarboards to make it easier for their loved ones to spot the individual in a crowd, and to express the wearer's messages, feelings, and sentiments on graduation day.
There is no prior art for mortar board display holders. However, there are prior art references teaching mortar board embellishments, as well as prior art references teaching various clip configurations. None of the prior art references teach the important features and functions of this invention.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0033705 A1 teaches a removable graduation cap cover that fits over the entire top of the mortarboard. The cap cover is made of a flexible material that stretches around the entire top surface of the mortarboard and fastens on the mortarboard underside. The removable graduation cap cover allows the wearer to customize the top of his/her mortarboard in a unique way. While the removable cover provides a means to customize the mortarboard, the removable cover cannot hold any documents, signs, drawings, and/or photographs. The removable cover does not provide any means to hold and display anything other than itself to the top of a mortarboard. Also, the removable cover lies flat against the top surface of the mortarboard and cannot display any design in an angled fashion with respect to the mortarboard plane.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0025028 teaches a graduation cap top that is removably secured to a graduation cap. The graduation cap top includes a flat base, and a design surface with a connection means to attach to the top surface of the mortarboard. The design surface is on top of the flat base, and the flat base attaches to the top surface of the mortarboard. The connection means can be velcro, putty, double sided tape, or magnets. While the graduation cap top allows the graduating student to put a customized message or design on top of the mortarboard, the mortarboard surface is still likely to be altered by the connection means. Any velcro, putty, tape, or magnets take time to attach to the mortarboard and will likely damage the surface of the mortarboard. Also, the graduation cap top lies flat against the top surface of the mortarboard and cannot display any design in an angled fashion with respect to the mortarboard plane.
There are many prior art examples of clip configurations, but none suited to clipping to a mortarboard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,594 teaches a computer monitor document holder assembly. The '594 patent teaches two clips, one that can clip to a mortarboard, and one that can clip to a document, sign, drawing, display, or photograph. However, since both clips in the document holder assembly are spring biased, it is likely that the clip edge contacting the mortarboard will squish and damage the mortarboard, leaving an indentation. Also, the computer monitor document holder assembly has non-securable hinges that will not hold the displayed document, sign, drawing, display or photograph in one desired orientation. It is desirable that a mortarboard display holder have a board clip containing a top and bottom prong that each lies flush against the surface of the mortarboard, and that can securely hold a document, sign, drawing, display or photograph in one desired orientation.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D616,946 teaches a tag holder with two clips securely oriented at 90 degrees to each other. The tag holder is intended to sit on a flat surface with the bottom surface of the larger bottom prong contacting a table or shelf. The tag display holder will be unbalanced if clipped onto a mortarboard—and will likely fall off of the mortarboard—because one end of the tag holder is so much heavier than the other. Ideally, the two clips would be oriented in a way that balances the entire clip assembly when clipped onto the edge of a mortarboard. Also, the bottom clip has a curved bottom prong that will likely cause the bottom clip to bend a mortarboard if attached thereto.
What is needed is a clip assembly capable of securely attaching to a mortarboard in a non-permanent way that will not damage the surface of the mortarboard, and securely holding documents, signs, drawings, and/or photographs such that the plane of the document, sign, drawing, and/or photograph is in angular relation to the plane of the mortarboard.